2018 Grammy snubs and surprises

It seemed likely that Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic would take the Grammy for Album of the Year, since the two potent rap albums in the running (Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN and Jay-Z’s 4:44) no doubt split the rap vote right down the middle. But the 60th Annual Grammy Awards still offered a larger-than-usual number of snubs and surprises. Take a look.

Snub: Jay-Z

The rap titan went 0-8. Only three other artists have ever had eight or more Grammy noms in one night and lost them all. Paul McCartney went 0-9 in 1965. Kanye West and Rihanna each went 0-8 last year. (Jay had the misfortune of vying with Kendrick Lamar in seven categories.) (Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Snub: Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee

“Despacito” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 for 16 weeks, the longest run at No. 1 since the Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men smash “One Sweet Day,” 22 years ago. But it lost Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and even Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Surprise: Bruno Mars

While a win for Album of the Year was expected, it was a surprise that Mars also swept Record and Song of the Year. He’s the first male artist to win all three awards in one year since Eric Clapton, 25 years ago. (Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Snub: Taylor Swift

The pop megastar lost both of the awards for which she was nominated: Best Country Song for “Better Man,” which she wrote for Little Big Town, and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker).” (Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Surprise: The Weeknd

Starboy took Best Urban Contemporary Album, beating Childish Gambino’s “Awaken, My Love!” (which was nominated for Album of the Year) and SZA’s highly touted debut album, Ctrl. The Weeknd’s previous album, Beauty Behind the Madness, won this award two years ago. (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Snub: Sam Hunt

“Body Like a Back Road” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for a record-breaking 34 weeks. No matter. It lost Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance to a pair of Chris Stapleton songs (“Broken Halos” and “Either Way,” respectively). (Photo: John Shearer/Country Rising/Getty Images)

Snub: Metallica

The band’s chart-topping album Hardwired … to Self-Destruct was expected to win Best Rock Album, but it lost to A Deeper Understanding from the War on Drugs. Metallica, one of the biggest bands in rock history, has yet to win in this key category. (Photo: Brian Rasic/WireImage)

Snub: SZA

The critically acclaimed newcomer amassed five nominations, more than any other female artist this year. But she lost ’em all. She was thought to have a good shot at Best New Artist, but lost to Alessia Cara. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NARAS)

“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana won Best Song Written for Visual Media, beating “City of Stars” from La La Land. This marks a reversal of fortune: “City of Stars” beat “How Far I’ll Go” at the Oscars a year ago. (If Miranda had won the Oscar, he’d have an EGOT.) (Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

The losing streak of the legendary band, which never won a Grammy, remains intact. Long Strange Trip, a film about the band, lost Best Music Film to The Defiant Ones, an HBO film that examined the relationship of the music titans Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. (Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Surprise: The National

The band took Best Alternative Music Album for Sleep Well Beast, beating LCD Soundsystem’s American Dream and Arcade Fire’s Everything Now, both of which were No. 1 albums. Arcade Fire once won Album of the Year, but they are 0-5 in this category. (Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

Snub: Yusuf (Cat Stevens)

The pop veteran lost Best Folk Album to Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness. But maybe that shouldn’t have come as a surprise: Yusuf’s nomination for The Laughing Apple was his first in a career which dates back more than 50 years and includes seven top 10 albums. (Photo: Andrew Benge/Redferns)